The present invention concerns a projectile, for example an anti-tank projectile, and a process for its use.
The development of the protection of tanks, today's major combat vehicles, at present makes infantry attack by traditional means more and more difficult. More particularly, the shoulder-fired weapons used by foot-soldiers almost all use warheads based on the principle of the hollow charge. This technology is countered at present, and to an ever-increasing degree, by multiple layers of armor whose role is precisely to disturb the operation and thus reduce the effectiveness of the jets from hollow charges. An improvement of performances against these targets is possible, but these new armors are becoming progressively harder and more effective, which means that any marginal improvement in the performances of present warheads is likely to be complex and costly if the calibers and weights compatible with a portable weapon are to be respected, all the more so for a weapon with a given caliber of munitions (missiles, tank artillery munitions, etc.).
However, these protections are placed by priority on the parts of the target most exposed to direct fire anti-tank projectiles, which is at present the simplest method of attack. Today, only the relatively weak protection of the roof and floor of armored vehicles allows any potential for development of anti-armor weapons.
Since attack via the floor seems impractical using an infantry weapon, attack via the roof remains the only method to be envisaged, and a few solutions using this principle have already been investigated recently, including:
The use of a projectile with a direct trajectory overflying the target and, on passing over the target, firing of a shaped charge (hollow charge or slug-generating charge). The slug-generating charge, however, has only limited effectiveness against armor, even the armor on the roof of a tank. The hollow charge, on the other hand, is in principle perfectly able to pierce the armor on the roof of a tank. Unfortunately, in this case, we must take into account the fact that the jet of a hollow charge moves during firing in the same direction as the projectile carrying it: the jet is displaced laterally as it hits the target, and there is a high risk of non-penetration. It has been suggested, to remedy this disadvantage, that the projectile could be made to turn during the jet in order to maintain the impact of the jet on the same point of the target; such a process is however very difficult to achieve owing to the very high rotation speed which must be imparted to the projectile.
The use of a projectile equipped with a seeker and fired upwards. As it falls, a parachute opens and the projectile then moves so as to scan a certain footprint. The damaging part is then either a slug-generating charge or a sub-projectile fired by a cannon or rocket effect from the initial projectile. Such a system is however complex, and expensive, and is relatively long to bring to operational readiness. It poses problems concerning precision in reaching the target, which is of course in motion. In addition, this system involves firing into the air instead of firing straight at a target, which is psychologically difficult to accept.
The use of piloted or guided projectiles, whose trajectory is made to curve downwards until impact on the top of the target at a high angle of incidence. This process requires the use of a particularly complex and costly device.